Teresianum 59 (2008) 65-82

A biblical rereading of the spiritual experience and Vision of Elizabeth of the Trinity

A u g u s t in e M u l l o o r , o cd

Introduction

Bible is the result of a process of com m unication between God and hum an beings, between elected persons or com m unities as voic­es of God and fellow hum an beings. Hence the inner dynam ism of the formative process of biblical texts is th a t hum an beings saw their life experiences in and through God, and God or his representative voices revealed him self o r his values through the life experiences of hum an beings. So, every act of in terpretation of a biblical text is also an act of in terpretation of the life of the interpreter. In o ther words, in terpretation process m ust take the com m unicative context neces­sarily into consideration. In this vein, it has been for me a dream , to develop the herm eneutics for reading Bible from the Carmelite point of view and for reading Carmelite spirituality from biblical point of view and thus to let the new deeper dim ensions of both the Biblical texts and the Carmelite Spirituality emerge through intercultura- tion1.

In this paper we shall apply this herm eneutical principle to the spirituality of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. The procedure is the following. F irst we shall reflect on the b iblical ro ttenness of Carmelite spirituality. After having m ade ou r sketch of the spiritual journey of Elizabeth of the Trinity, we shall expatiate how she is a liv­ing in terpretation of biblical spirituality. Then, the biblical founda­tions of Elizabethan Spirituality are expounded to substantiate that E lizabeth is the em bodim ent of realized discipleship. Finally we

1 For a model of this hermeneutical principle applied to Carmelite Spiritual­ity, Cfr. A. M u llo o r , "Life Journey o f Edith Stein: A Rereading from Biblical Per­spective”, in: Jyotir Dhara, 1/1 (1999) 116-126.

6 6 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

dem onstrate tha t her Prayer to the Trinity w hich is synthesis of her spirituality is essentially a biblical prayer.

1. Biblical Rootedness of Carmelite Spirituality

Carmel is essentially biblical in its origin, spirit and expressions. Geographically Carmel originated on Mt. Carmel in the Bible Land. Enveloped by the atm osphere of silence and prayer, the naturally beautiful Mt.Carmel is pervaded by God’s presence2. The spirit of Carmel was essentially Elianic from its very genesis. The Spirit of Elijah consists of the liberative inw ard journey and prophetic action for the transform ation of the society after the model of Moses the lib­erator of Israel. The Spirit of Carmel was inevitably M arian from the very beginning. M ary is the prim ary and perfect em bodim ent of the life style of listening to the word and keeping the w ord3. The prim i­tive rule envisages as fundam ental way of life of Carmelites the word centeredness which is expressed "in m editating on the w ord of God day and night.” If the Primitive Rule is biblical throughout, its essen­tial message is specifically biblical as synthesized in the “exhorta­tion” at the centre in term s of a journey from the actual situation to the identification with the word of God, the Sword of the Spirit, wearing the arm our of God, faith, hope and love expressed in the vowed life4. It is the Carmelite rein terpretation of Pauline Spiritual vision5.

St.Teresa was captured by the experience of the singleness of God and His sufficiency and sought H im uncom prom isingly in friendship through prayer and experienced him in the innerm ost depth of her being walking “the way of perfection” to the "Interior Castle” and taking the responsibility for his m ission through the "foundations”. The teaching of Jesus, “in my Fathers House, there are m any room s... I go to prepare a place for you ....” (Jn 14, 1-6), be­cam e the source of inspiration for St.Teresa of Avila for the inw ard journey to the indwelling God in term s of a journey to the interior castle. The Johannine vision of the relationship between Jesus and the disciples partaking the living w ater i.e. drinking from Him and becom ing fountains of living w ater (Jn 4,1-42; 7,37-39) and realizing

2 E. F r ied m a n , The Latin Hermits of Mount Carmel: A Study in Carmelite Origins, Rome, 1979.

3 Cff. N. G eagea , Maria, Madre e Decoro del Carmelo, Roma, 1988.4 Cfr. A. M u l l o o r , “An Indian Rereading of "The Primitive Rule” of

Carmelites", Teresianum (2000) 457-479.5 The Rule o f Carmel. New Horizons, ed. il Calamo, Rome, 2000.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 67

the intim ate friendship with him having shared all the family secrets (Jn 15,1-17) is the biblical culture behind Teresian God-experience6.

St.John of the Cross is radically biblical in his experience of God and in its expression through the writings presented in the “Ascent of M t.Carmel” leading to the experience of "Dark Night”, reaching the transform ing union in the "Spiritual Canticle” and culm inating in the “Living Flame of Love”. Research has revealed tha t the basic bib­lical principles energizing the spiritual vision of St.John of the Cross are: Oneness of God and the first com m andm ent, God’s uniqueness and the second com m andm ent. This is the essence of biblical revela­tion7. The path of unknowing tha t he tread and taught has the bibli­cal foundations in the dialogue between Jesus and Nicodemus, the discourse on the Bread of life and the living Bread and the healing of the m an bom blind (Jn 3. 6. 9.)8.

St.Therese becam e the transparen t Gospel by living the essence of it crystallized in the teaching of Jesus on "revelation to the sim ple” and a prophetic sign of the radical reversal of the logic of the worldly w isdom ”9. St.Therese, therefore, is incom prehensible if no t in the m irror of the Bible10.

We m ust locate the Spirituality of E lizabeth w ith in this Carmelite Biblical tradition. Let us reread her spiritual vision not so m uch as the response given by a person to God, bu t ra ther as the fruit of a life tha t was penetrated and interpreted by the w ord and thus m ade a tangible, visible and audible habitation of God him self11.

6 Cfr. E. R enault (Ed.), Alle Sorgenti dell’ aqua viva, Roma, 1982. For more bibliography on this theme cfr. M.D. S an c h ez , Bibliografia del Centenario Tere- siano, Roma, 1983.

7 Cfr. F. F o r e s t i, Le radici bibliche della Salita del Monte Carmelo di S. Gio­vanni della Croce, Roma, 1981.8 For further bibliography on St. John of the Cross and Bible cfr. B.M. Ah ­

e r n , "The use of scripture in the Spiritual Theology of St. John of the Cross”, CBQ 14 (1952) 6-17; M. Alo n so J oaqu iri, "Biblia y mistica en San Juan de la Cruz”, RevEsp 9 (1950) 18-40; 330-357; 467-477; A. E r n s , Studien zu den Quellen des al­legorischen Bibelexegesen bei San Juan de la Cruz, Aachen, 1967; S. F um et , “Saint Jean de la Croix et la Bible”, VieSpr 67 (1942) 11-27; F. G arcía , “San Juan de la Cruz y la Biblia", RevEspr 1 (1941-42) 372-388; J. V iln et , Bible et Mystique Chez Saint Jean de la Croix, Paris, 1949.

9 A. M u llo o r , "Revelation to the Simple”. St. Therese as a paradigm of the prophetic reversal for a counter culture”, in D. K a njira m u k k il-A. M u lloor (eds.), Therese o f Lisieux: A Gift for our Times, Kalamassery, 1997, pp. 63-73.

10 Cfr. J. Palliparam bil, “St. Therese and Sacred Scripture: The Data”, in D. K anjira m u k k il-A. M u lloor (eds.), Therese o f Lisieux, pp. 58-62.

11 Cfr. A. S ica ri, Elisabetta della Trinità: Un esistenza teologica, Roma, 1986,p.7.

6 8 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

2. Spiritual Journey of Bl.Elizabeth: Key Junctures

Elizabeth is a person who m ade a long journey in a short time, in a simple and straight way and in an undisturbed and all-pervading stillness and silence. It was a unique personal synthesis of the Tere­sian and San Juanist Spiritual itineraries. Thus, on the one side, she journeyed to the depth of her own being, a thorough inw ard journey leading to the awareness and experience of the indwelling God in the interior castle of the soul, as St.Teresa envisaged. On the o ther side, like St.John of the Cross, she cam e out of herself into the wilderness searching for the one who w ounded her w ith love, and climbed up the m ountain, leaving the nature, the senses, the reason and experi­enced on the m ountain the presence of the beloved and union with Him, transform ed by the flame of love. But the E lizabethan journey is im printed by her characteristic personal traits tha t m ake it unique and different.

Hers was a deeply theological existence, characterized by a jo u r­ney of faith, experience of love and dynam ism and em pow erm ent of hope. H er faith journey was pervaded by the deep creative silence of the soul, Carmelite solitude, being "Alone w ith the alone”12. That is w hat she desired from her early days, "to live alone w ith thee”13, which later deepened itself and found expression in the words, “soon I shall be all Thine; I shall dwell in solitude, alone with Thee, con­cerned only w ith thee, living only w ith thee, talking only w ith Thee”14. The darkness of pure faith led her, as a sure guide, into the land of the experience of love. This love coexisted with deep suffering and brought to her interiority a heavenly joy which was inexplicable. As the suffering increased even on physical level, so too the joy on the spiritual level, so tha t she was as though already in eternity15. And it was said, “we could no longer follow her; she was already a being of the world beyond”16. About this joy she writes, “...I am experiencing unknow n joys: the joys of suffering... it is my dream , before I die, to be transform ed into Jesus crucified17” And she walked w ith u tte r joy like a bride beside her crucified Lord. So it becam e a transform ation into Christ by love, as she raised herself to the love w hich exceeds

12 Cfr. M.M. P h il ip o n , The Spiritual Doctrine of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity, Bangalore 2006, p. 34.

13 E l iz a b e t h o f t h e T r in i ty , Poems, August 1896.14 E l iz a b e th o f t h e T r in i ty , Diary, March 27 , 1899; Last Retreat, 4th day.15 Cfr. M.M. Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine of Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity,

p.25.16 Ibid.17 E l iz a b e t h o f t h e T r in i ty , Letter to G. de G., October 1906.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 69

suffering. And she said, “All passes aw ay... in the evening of life only love rem ains.... We m ust do everything for love... we m ust constant­ly forget ourselves... the good God so loves us to be forgetful of our­selves. Oh! If I had always been so!18” and she exclaimed, “oh! Love, love, love, love, consum e my whole substance for thy glory”19.

The experience of love em powered Bl.Elizabeth to be dynam ical­ly hopeful. The hope was the basis of her aw areness of the m ission to be fulfilled in the Church on earth. In a note w ritten to one sister be­fore the last retreat she writes, “...that is w hat I am going to teach myself: conformity, identity w ith my adored m aster who was cruci­fied of love! Then, I shall be able to fulfill my office of praise of glory and even here below to sing the eternal “sanctus” while waiting to go and chant it in the heavenly courts of the F athers house”20. This deep consciousness of her m ission was the result of in terio r intim acy she experienced in her depths th a t she w anted to share w ith everyone and so she exclaims: “...Oh! Would tha t I could tell all souls...”21. The dynam ism of her life in favour of God’s m ission is very impressive w hen we know she wrote 78 letters and 27 poem s ju st during her stay in infirm ary ie. from the end of M arch to Novem ber 9, 1906. Her m ission was to keep souls in tha t great inner silence and thus to cleave to God uninterruptedly and unfailingly. Describing this m is­sion, she sum m arizes the dynam ism of faith, love and hope in her theological existence: “it seems to me that in heaven my m ission will be to draw souls, by helping them to go out of themselves in order to adhere to God, by a very simple and wholly loving m ovem ent and to m aintain them in tha t great inner silence w hich allows God to im ­prin t him self on them and to transform them into Himself”22. H er last intelligent words sum up her spiritual journey: “I am going to light, to love, to life”, to light through faith, to love through charity and to life through hope.

3. Bl. Elizabeth: A New Living Interpretation of Biblical Spiritu­ality

Biblical Spirituality is the vision of life and way of life that emerges from the story of the self-revelation of God in hum an histo-

18 E lizab eth o f t h e T r in ity , Diary, Nov. 1, 1906.19 Ibid.20 Cfr. M.M. P h il ip o n , The Spiritual Doctrine of Blessed Elizabeth of the

Trinity, p.28.21 E lizab eth o f t h e T r in ity , Letter to Her Mother, August 3, 1906.22 E lizabeth o f t h e T r in ity , Words to a Lay Sister, (a few days before her death)

70 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

iy and the resultant redim ensioning of hum an existence. It is the fruit of the dialectical process between the divine action and the h u ­m an response or reaction. Our identification with the logic and ped­agogy of God, who gratuitously reveals and elects, hides and rejects in the process of unfolding of his salvific plan of which he Himself is the sovereign and His fundam ental preferential predilection for the poor who are the beneficiaries of salvation23 as the logic of the u n ­folding process redim ensions our life. God who is revealed is creator, liberator and judge. Provider, saviour, and Father are other dim en­sions of the image of God. God gratuitously takes initiative to accept hum an beings as partners through the acts of call, election, prom ise and covenant. The pragm atic purpose is the realization of a trans­form ed humanity, a new community. The partnership between God and hum an beings reached the perfect form in Jesus and hum an per­son who responds a t the same time. The risen Jesus is the trans­form ed humanity, the basis of the new covenantal life24.

Elizabeth, through her radical journey of faith, love and hope, em bodied in her life the hum anly possible perfect harm onization of the call of God and the response of hum an beings. The basis of Eliz­abeth's relationship with God was faith and pure faith alone. She re­m ained totally yielded and su rrendered to God the crea to r and provider. Recognition or acknowledgement of and subm ission to the sovereign authority of God came naturally to her. The decisiveness of the divine interventions in hum an history through the person of Christ was essentially realized in her life through the love experience and expression of her christocentric life i.e. "faith active through love” (Gal 5,6). She was the new concrete spatio-tem poral expression of the definitiveness and crucial nature of Christ-event. The words of the author of letter to the Hebrews about the uniqueness of Christ- event and the life of Elizabeth find perfect concordance to each o th­er: "... in these last days he has spoken to us through a Son... he is the reflection of his glory and the very stam p of his natu re” (Heb 1,2- 3). Inspired by the Pauline w ords in Eph.1,12, she calls herself “praise of His glory” and writes, “I live in the heaven of faith, in the centre of my soul, and I try to give joy to my m aster by being even here on earth, the “praise of glory”25. Hence Elizabeth was the trans­parently and authentically alive Gospel, the message of Salvation, the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Liberator and Saviour.

23 Cfr. A. M u lloor , Jesus’ Prayer o f Praise, Delhi 1996, p . 300.24 Read Jer 31, 3If; Ez. 36, 20f.25 E lizab eth o f t h e T rin ity , Letter to Canon A., May, 1906.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 71

In her life, Elizabeth fulfilled the future eschatological fulfill­m ent of salvation History, already proleptically m ade present in the resurrection of Jesus. H er encounter w ith God included the en­counter w ith the judge and deliverer. For her eternity had already started on earth. Every desire, thought, decision and action of Eliza­beth was well-tuned to the rhythm of eternity. She writes, "I believe tha t we should give im m ense joy to the heart of God by im itating, in the heaven of our soul, this occupation of the Blessed”26 and again, “since my soul is a heaven, w here I dwell, while awaiting the heaven­ly Jerusalem , this heaven too, m ust sing the glory of the eternal, nothing but the glory of the eternal27.”

So, the life of E lizabeth was the History of salvation in nuce, in its past, present and future dim ensions, pervaded by the presence of God the creator, liberator and judge, m ade visible, tangible and audi­ble. She is therefore the living testim ony of the realized Biblical Spir­ituality by drinking from the rivers of revelation, assim ilitating its Spirit and being transform ed by it and expressing the sam e in words and deeds.

4. Biblical Foundations of the Spirituality of Bl.Elizabeth

Now, we are moving to the in-depth reflection on the biblical na­ture of Elizabethan Spirituality.

4.1 Accumulation o f Biblical CitationsIf Bl.Elizabeth of the Trinity had im bibed and assim ilated the

biblical spirituality, the fruitfulness of th is deeprootedness in the Biblical culture was manifested, besides in the em bodied testim onial presence of Biblical values, in the impressive accum ulation of the ci­tations from scripture, leaving aside the abundan t allusions to bibli­cal them es and personalities. The biblical citations are m ore num er­ous in the “Last re treat” than in "Heaven in Faith”. Among the vari­ous books of the Bible cited by the Saint, the Pauline and Johannine writings and the book of Psalms take the first places28.

The relationship between Elizabeth and the Sacred Scripture is so natural and spontaneous tha t she cannot write w ithout having fre­

26 E l iz a b e t h o f t h e T r in i ty , Last Retreat, 3rd day.27 E l i z a b e t h o f t h e T r in i ty , The Last Retreat, 7th day.28 Taking the "Last Retreat’’ as a specimen, we have in it 40 citations from

St.Paul, 4 from St. John and 18 from the Book of Psalms.

72 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

quent recourse to the Scripture. For her the Scripture is the treasure of the truth; the basis of the objectivity of faith. It is the revelation of God’s plan”, His “mystery”, His "secret”, His “dream ” and His “de­sire”. They contain the "explanations” of God’s "counsels”, His “will”, of “Christ’s work” and “our vocation”. It shows us "the way” and is the "rule of life”, "teaching” and “instructing”29. In fact, Bl. Elizabeth nourished herself on the Word of God and assim ilated it in her own flesh, reproduced it as her own "soaked in her heart, som etim es in the blood of her suffering30. She "listened” to the Word of God and stored it "in the depths” of her heart. To have recourse to Scripture m eant for her “to say 'yes’, to com m it herself, to disappear in the beloved and to pray”31.

4.2 Johannine RootsAmong the Gospels, St. John is the one m ost cited by Bl.Eliz-

abeth. An evangelist who flies in the heights of Christ-event or who delves into the depths of Christ-event and presents the discipleship w ith an em phasis on the m ystical, contem plative dim ension, in term s of personal intim ate and abiding friendship between Jesus and the disciples is close to our Saint whose spiritual experience is im ­printed by the mystery of the indwelling of the Trinity in her soul.

While she uses the whole Gospel according to John, there is an accum ulation of citations from the particu la r section of the Gospel, namely chs. 14-17 which present the final discourse and the final prayer of Jesus as part of the second book, i.e. the book of glory. The book is centered on the them e "abiding in Jesus”. It narrates the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is addressed to only those who have come to Jesus by believing in him . It is about the principles of deeper and m ore intim ate relationship. Of less than hundred citations from the Gospel and the letters of John, around 30 are from these chapters. “Heaven in Faith” begins w ith the citation of Jn 17, 24. Commenting on this “last w ish” of Jesus expressed in His “Suprem e Prayer” before returning to the Father, she writes, “He wills tha t where He is, we should be also, not only for eternity bu t al­ready in tim e which is eternity begun and still in progress”32. Then, she cites St. John of the Cross to tell us where Son is: "The place where the Son of God is hidden, is the bosom of the Father or the Di­vine Essence, invisible to every m ortal eye, unattainable by every hu ­

29 Cfr. E lizabeth o f t h e T rinity , I have found God, The complete works, Vol. I, Trivandrum, 1996, p. 137.

3° Ibid., p. 138.31 Ibid.) Cfr. J. Tauro , “Bl. Elizabeth, Her Mystical Insights, A Biblical Per­

spective”, Dhyanajala, 1/1 (2006) 23.32 E lizab eth o f t h e T r in it y , Heaven in Faith, 1.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 73

m an intellect”33. The language used by John of the Cross is also Jo- hannine. As Elizabeth goes on, we have further citations from the Evangelist the rest of the work at least six times. This observation is applicable to the “Last R etreat” as its second paragraph begins with citation of Jn 1,18 and a few m ore follow in the course of the work.

In the theological vision of the fourth Evangelist the first part of the Gospel narrates the models of various kinds of people “com ing” to Jesus34. Jesus is revealing the Father through signs and discourses. It is a revelation tha t is open to all, Jews, Sam aritans, Gentiles and fi­nally the Greeks. All who respond to Jesus’ revelation go through the process of “coming and seeing”, “eating and drinking”, “entering”, “hearing”, “walking in the light" etc. w hich are Johannine equiva­lents of "believing”35. The act of believing consists of “recognizing” Jesus and "deciding” for Him. This experience, in the Johannine lan­guage, is described also as “filling up” (2,1-12), "taking away” (2,13- 25) and “being bom anew" (3,1-11). These express the encounter of Jesus in faith. The journey of faith th a t characterizes the first part of the spiritual journey of Elizabeth is a reflection of the first part of the process and experience of discipleship according to John.

Blessed Elizabeth cites frequently texts from the First Letter of John w hich may be identified as the practical com m entary on the Gospel of John. The first part of this letter (1,5 - 3,11) focuses on faith presented as light. To have fellowship with God, one is dem anded to walk in the light. This theological principle has a lot of affinity to the basic spiritual experience of Elizabeth. In the “Heaven in Faith”, she writes: "To approach God we m ust believe.... Faith makes so present and so certain future goods, that by it they take on existence in oursoul and subsist there before we have fruition of th e m it serves as“feet” to go "to God”... it alone can give us true light, concerning Him whom we love.... Thus even in this life faith gives us God, covered it is hue , w ith a veil, nonetheless God him self.... it no longer rests in incli­nations or feelings; it m atters little to the soul w hether it feels God or not, w hether He sends it joy or suffering, believes in His love...”36.

The second part of the Gospel (13, 1-20. 29) is centred on "how to abide in Him ”. Just as the them e shifts, the audience is restricted

33 Spiritual Canticle, 22.34 Cfr. A .M u llo o r , The Gospel According to John, Vol. I, Bangalore 2006, pp.

12-14.35 Cfr. R. B ro w n , The Gospel According to John, Vol. I, New York 1981, pp.

78-79; T. B a r o sse , "The Johannine Relationship of Love to Faith”, in M.J. Taylor (ed.), A Companion to John, New York 1977, pp. 153-176; I. D e L a P o t t e r ie , Stu­di di cristologia giovannea, Genova 1986, pp. 290-302.

36 E lizabeth o f t h e T r in ity , Heaven in Faith, Sixth Day.

74 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

to only those who have accepted Jesus th rough faith. Hence Jesus is teaching the inner circle of his intim ate disciples (with the exception of Judas) about the secrets of how to rem ain in him. The final dis­course as well as the final prayer are revelations of these principles of abiding in Jesus. The context is tha t of intim ate and unique interior relationship or close friendship37. In the First Letter of John parallel- ly we have the second part centred on the them e of "love” (3,11-5,12). One who has come to light and walks in the light, m ust abide in the light through love. So in the letter, "light and love” are equivalents of "faith and life” in the Gospel.

Now, the nature of relationship of a disciple to Jesus gains a rad­ically new dim ension in the second book. Earlier, this relationship was articulated through historical verbs, indicating external actions. But now, it is interior, and especially close. This is the context in which the usage of special phrases such as einai en and menein en are to be evaluated. Essentially they belong to the language of radical discipleship.

The im m anence of God is an essential aspect of any religious ex­perience. That is the language for articulating the union between God and hum an being38. In the Old Testam ent the covenantal rela­tionship between God and the people of Israel is expressed through the presence of God with the people. In the covenant God offered him self to the people (Hesed) and rem ained unfailingly faithful to His w ord to give him self (Emet). Thereby he declared him self as "their God”. He dwells w ith them and am ong them . The fidelity to the covenant was realized by people through their self offering to God and perseverance in the same. Thereby they dwell in their God (Ex 19, 3-6). The tent of meeting, the tem ple etc. are the concrete forms of this deep relationship between God and people. God dwells w ith them and they dwell in God39.

The them e of the covenant is central to the fourth Gospel. The Evangelist shows through the various events in the m inistry of Jesus that the new covenant as prophesied by Jer 31, 31f. and Ezek 36, 20f. is being established. The event at Cana (2,1-12), the encounter be­tween Jesus and the Sam aritan w om an (4,1-42) the teaching on the new com m andm ent (13,31-35), the teachings in the final discourse

37 Cfr. D.A. Ca rso n , The Farewell Discourse and the Final Prayer o f Jesus, Grand Rapids, 1980.

38 Cfr. M arie d e la C o r ix , The Biblical Spirituality o f St. John, New York, 1966, p.319; C.H. D odd , The Interpretation o f the Fourth Gospel, Cambridgern 1965, pp. 190-192.

39 Cfr. J. Ta uro , “Blessed Elizabeth o f the Trinity; Her Mystical Insights: A Biblical Perspective”, pp. 24-32.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 75

(14,1-16, 33) are all expositions of this them e. Jesus’ m inistry is the process of ratification of the new covenant and his death is the final act of ratification. The new covenant is centred on a heart of flesh w hich is transform ed and has become the dwelling place of the spir­it ("I will put my Spirit in it... Ez 36, 20f.). The second book of the Gospel, presents the union between God and the new people as an in­terior relationship in the teaching on F athers house and m any room s and places in the house (14, 1-6), on the m ode of presence and func­tion of the Spirit in the disciples (14, 15f., 14, 25f., 15, 26; 16,7; 16,13) and on the intim ate relationship between Vine and branches (15,1- 17).

The language used in 14, 1-6 (House, room s, place) belongs to the vocabulary related to the temple. The tem ple is the dwelling place of God and by entering the tem ple one encounters God and through sacrifice and prayer one has com m union w ith God. The tem ple is the sign of the Old Covenant. In Jesus the new covenant is established and through Jesus we are able to come into the presence of the Fa­ther i.e. heaven itself and to have real com m union with him through faith and love.

The focus of the teaching on Vine and branches too is the same. There Jesus characterizes his re la tionsh ip w ith the disciples as friendship. The relationship between Vine and branches is invisible and intim ate and familial. It is friendship because the family secrets are shared by the disciples. "For all tha t I heard from my Father, I have m ade known to you” (Jn 15, 15). It is a com m union effected through faith and love.

This is the language of discipleship especially in its fuller and fi­nal stage in term s of deep-rooted relationship of com m union40. This fellowship or union is the language and sign of the new covenant re­lationship. In this context we m ust in terpret the expressions "menein en” and "einai en” in John. Both expressions have essentially the sam e meaning. However “m enein” is preferred by John as it implies the nuance of perm anency of the relationship, be it between Father and the Son or between Son and a Christian41. The phrase occurs m ore than 118 tim es in the New Testament; bu t out of this 68 tim es it is used in John. It is employed to refer to the m utual abiding of Fa­ther and Son, to the com m union of believers w ith Father or w ith Son and to the m utual abiding of believer and the W ord of Christ o r love or tru th 42.

40 Cfr. M. Vellanickal, Studies in the Gospel o f John, B a n g a lo re 1997, p. 126.41 R. B r o w n , The Gospel According to John, Vol. I , p. 510.42 Cfr. M. Vellanickal , Studies in the Gospel o f John, pp. 172-188.

76 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

The m utual abiding of the believer and the Father or the Son is, patterned on the m utual abiding of Father and Son. The la tter is the source of the form er43. Through discipleship the m utual abiding of Father and Son is reproduced in the believers: “Even as thou Father, a rt in me, and I in thee tha t they also may be in us..." (Jn 17, 21). John speaks of the indwelling of the Trinity: “If a m an loves me he will keep my w ord and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our hom e w ith him ” (Jn 14, 23). John presents the in­dwelling of the Spirit in the disciples: "... And I will pray to the Fa­ther and he will send you another counsellor to be with you forever, even the Spirit of tru th .... You know him for he dwells w ith you and will be in you... (Jn 14, 15-17). John presents also the m utual abiding of Jesus and the believers (Jn 15, 1-17). This is a progressive under­standing of the discipleship. They may be three stages in the develop­m ent of Johannine theology. So in the final stage it is the indwelling of the Spirit. That is why ch. 16 of the John speaks only of the in­dwelling of the Spirit where as Ch. 14 speaks of indwelling of Father and Son. The Trinitarian indwelling is realized through and in the spirit, the living reciprocity of love in the Trinity. Docility to the word and dynam ism of love are fruits of this experience.

The reference is to the intim ate union and enduring relationship through which the believer gets im m ersed in the Divine Stream . It is an invisible and hidden bu t real union. This is the result of disciple­ship by w hich the believers realize and possess the eschatological prom ise of salvation. It is the essential constitutive principle of Christian life44.

Elizabeth had experienced the discipleship in its final full stage and form. She penetrated into the m eaning of her baptism al vocation and understood tha t she was called to live in the "fellowship” of the Trinity45. She begins "Heaven in Faith” w ith the citation of Jn 17,24 and com m ents on it saying: "... it is im portant then to know where we m ust live w ith him in order to realize His divine dream . The place where the Son of God is hidden is the bosom of the Father or divine essence, invisible to every m ortal eye, unattainable by every hum an intellect... And yet, His will is tha t we should be established in him; tha t we should live w here he lives in the unity of love...”46. Further she writes, "this heaven, Our F athers house, is in the centre of our soul. W hen we are deep w ithin ourselves, we are in God”47. H er

43 Ibid., pp.176-177; R. B r o w n , The Gospel According to John, vol. I, p. 511.44 Cfr. R. B r o w n , The Gospel According to John, Vol. I, p. 512.45 Cfr. M.M. P h il ip po n , The Spiritual Doctrine, p. 57.46 E lizab eth o f t h e T rin ity , Heaven in Faith, p. 1.47 Letter to Her Sister, August 1905.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 77

words, w ritten a few hours before her death is a com prehensive testi­m ony to the fact tha t she had experienced and had becom e a perfect em bodim ent of the discipleship as presented by St.John: “the belief tha t a being whose nam e is love is dwelling w ithin us a t every m o­m ent of the day and night. And tha t he asks us to live in his com pa­ny”48. Faith led her to life. Light led her to love. The word was the principle of unity. The indwelling spirit was the fountain head of all this.

Pauline FruitsBl. E lizabeth of the Trinity was a perfect disciple of St. Paul. She

had journeyed with Paul from the experience of justification to salva­tion and glorification and actualized in the perfect union w ith Christ, in the Spirit. A text from Paul w hich she cites w ith special interest is E p h .l ,11-12..” We have been predestined by the decree of H im who works all things according to the counsel of His will so tha t we may be the praise of His glory49. But the reflection on it is begun w ith a reference to Eph. 1,4: "God chose us in H im before creation th a t we m ight be holy and im m aculate in His presence, in love”. Elizabeth understood the depth of the mystery of God’s eternal plan penetrated by Paul. She finds here the m eaning of her vocation, election and mission. She identified th a t the m ission of being “praise of his glory” is possible only by “rem aining in the presence of God”. Further, she draws the conclusion on the inevitability of Christocentrism to re­spond to the dignity of this vocation. She writes: “bu t how do we re­spond to the dignity of this vocation? This is the secret: "Mihi vivere christus est!... vivo enim, jam non ego, vivit vero in me C hristus...” We m ust be transform ed into Jesus Christ; again it is Paul who teach­es m e this: "Those w hom God has foreknown, He has predestined to be conform ed to the image of His Son”50. So Elizabeth discerns the m eaning and relevance of her vocation, actual Christian existence, and its final fulfillment with the help of Pauline theological vision re ­garding the mystery of Christ event.

For Paul, the three dim ensional understandings of Christian ex­istence is the result of the Trinitarian com m itm ent to hum an history for the salvation of humanity. One is justified by God, the Father, through faith in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Spirit. The effects of

48 Letter to Madame G. de. B., 1906.49 Last Retreat, The Third Day: Fourteenth Day, 6, 36.50 Last Retreat (Fourteenth Day): 36-37.

78 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

Christ event are justification, salvation, reconciliation, expiation, re­dem ption, freedom, transform ation, new creation and glorification. They are essentially three: justification (“dikaiosis”) w hich is christo- logical, salvation (“soteria”) which is soteriological and glorification ("doxa”) which is eschatological51. This threefold aspects of Christian existence is based on the personal experience of Paul himself. His en­counter w ith the risen Jesus was the beginning of "life in Christ” for him ("en Christo”). But the risen Jesus is the presence of the living Spirit. So when Paul expounds the m eaning of life “in Christ”, he ac­tually speaks of life “in the Spirit” (“en Pneum ato”). So Christian ex­istence is essentially life “in the Spirit”.

The Pauline expression “in Christo” is, in m eaning, parallel to “m enein en” in the Johannine Theology. The accum ulated presence of this phrase (124 times) in Paul articulates how the Apostle crystal­lizes a central idea through this, nam ely "com m union w ith Christ”. Phil. 3,1-11 synthesizes the Pauline understanding of com m union with Christ. "... W hatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ... For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as refuse in order that I may gain Christ and be found in h im ...”52.

After having expatiated the process in the incorporation of a per­son into Christ through baptism in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Romans, Paul develops the them e of “life in the Spirit” in the fol­lowing chapters, especially chapter 8. So actual experience of com ­m union with Christ is pneum atological. Christians are the temple of God and the Spirit dwells in them (1 Cor 3, 16-19); they are the tem ­ples of the Spirit who is in them (1 Cor 6,19); they are the house of the living God (2 Cor 6, 16); they are built into Christ the com er stone for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Eph 2,22); they are God’s field, God's building (1 Cor 3, 9); they live bu t not they but Christ lives in them (Gal 2, 20).

W hat impresses us about the life and spirituality of Bl. Elizabeth is that all the three dim ensions of Christian existence are at the same tim e realized in her, during her life on earth: she was justified, saved and glorified; she was incorporated into Christ and conform ed her­self to Christ’s image and thus becam e the dwelling place of God, and she dwelt in God and finally becam e the “praise of his glory”, living in tim e yet really in eternity. In her we experience the actualized "tem pitem idad”. H er attachm ent to the Pauline phrase "praise of his glory” (Eph 1,12) is the actual expression of her proleptic experience

51 Cfr. J.A. F itzm y er , "Pauline Theology”, NJBC, Bangalore 1991, pp. 1397- 1401.

52 J. Tauro , "Bl. Elizabeth: Her Mystical Insights", pp. 36-37.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE. 79

of eschatological fulfillment. "Glory” (doxa-kabod) represents Gods very being and presence. W hen hum an beings live according to the will of God revealed in the Christ-event, they becom e the praise of God. God is honoured by their lives o r G ods glory is experienced by all in and through their lives. They becom e the presence of God, dwelling place of God, the tem ple of the Spirit of God. This is a rein­terpretation of the words of Christ: "let your light so shine before men, th a t they m ay see your good works and give glory to your Fa­ther who is in Heaven” (Mt 5,16). Elizabeth writes, “I am going to tell you a secret: my dream is to be the praise of His glory”. I read th a t in St.Paul, and my Bridegroom has m ade me understand th a t this is my vocation here in exile, while waiting to go and sing the eternal "Sanc- tu s” in the city of the Saints. But this calls for great fidelity since in order to be a “praise of glory”.53 Elizabeth was a perfect disciple of Paul. She realized in her the Christological, soteriological and escha­tological fruits of Christ event expounded by Paul. Through her life, we understand Pauline teaching m ore deeply.

5. Bl. Elizabeth’s Prayer to the Trinity: An Epitome of Salvation History

In this final section we shall focus our attention on the classical prayer54 of the saint addressed to the Trinity and dem onstrate that this is basically a biblical prayer because it is an epitom e of salvation H istory the essential biblical perspective, and a com pendium of her integral spiritual experience. The whole biblical history of salvation can be read in this prayer, and this prayer serves as a key to read sal­vation history in a new way. Salvation history is the story of the ac­tive involvement of the living God, one and three, Father, Son and Spirit, in the hum an history. Through baptism we are introduced in­to this divine river so tha t th rough the process of Christification and divinization, we can experience the three divine persons m anifested

53 Letter to Canon A., January 1906.54 The Prayer was written by her on 21st November 1904, on the day of the

feast of the Presentation. The whole community renewed their religious profes­sion on that day. Already during the pronouncement of the profession formula she was irresistibly moved by grace to the Holy Trinity. When she returned to the cell, she took up her pen and on common sheet of paper from a notebook without hesitation and without any correction, in one stroke she wrote the prayer. It came spontaneously as an outpouring of the heart. It sprang from the fullness of heart. Cfr. M.M. Philipon, The Spiritual Doctrine, p.53; Elizabeth of the Trinity, Complete Worm, Vol. I, 184-185. This prayer has a similarity to “The Act of oblation of St.Therese of Lisieux and to the prayer of St. Catherine of Sienna to the Trinity (Dialogue ch: 167).

80 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

as present in centre of the soul, “holding their alm ighty council day and night”55 and “the Blessed Trinity can be our dwelling, our Home, our Father's House w hich we ought never leave.”56

A glance at the organization of this prayer, reveals tha t Elizabeth addresses God the Trinity at the beginning and at the end (O, my God Trinity, O, my unchanging one; O, my Three, O my All, O my Beati­tude, O Infinite Solitude, O Im m ensity in w hich I lose myself). W hat does she pray for? “Give peace to my soul, m ake it your place”; “bury yourself in m e”. W hat are the effects she desires to experience in her life? "That I may be rooted in you as still and as peaceful as my soul were in eternity, tha t nothing m ay trouble my peace or m ake me leave you. May each m inute I never leave you alone, m ay I be fully present, my faith wholly vigilant, wholly adoring, wholly surrendered to your creation action”; “tha t I m ay surrender myself as your offer­ing tha t I may bury myself in you”.

Elizabeth recognizes and proclaim s the Trinity as the Sovereign God, the Lord of History, the creator, the Lord of heaven and earth, the incom prehensible God, experienced solely in the darkness of faith, realized through the attitudes of subm ission and surrender as the very fundam ent of our existence. The w ords of Isaiah, echoes in the words of the prayer: “Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool... bu t this is the m an to w hom I will look, he tha t is hum ble and contrite in Spirit and trem bles a t my w ord” (Is 66, 1-2).

So Elizabeth is addressing the prayer to God as the very funda­m ent of her existence. The desired effect of this prayer is th a t she m ay be rooted in Him and tha t He m ay bury him self in her. God is transcendent and hidden and so He can be experienced only in pure faith.57 Faith is expressed through the attitudes of total surrender: “th a t I m ay surrender myself; tha t I m ay bury myself in you ....” Through faith a relationship w ith God is established through live ex­perience.

Now, w ithin the inclusion of the address to the Trinity, there are addresses to Christ, Spirit and Father.

Christ is addressed "beloved, crucified by love, eternal word, in ­terpretation of my God and beloved star”. The Christocentrism of Salvation History is underscored by such an address. It focuses on the decisive and crucial nature of Christ event. Specially notable is the phrase, “in terpretation of my God”. Jesus is the only one who can interpret the Father (Jn 1, 18).

55 This is the expression used by Elizabeth as she narrated her experience of special grace in the Ascension day, 1906.

56 E lizab eth o f t h e T r in it y , Heaven in Faith, 1st day, 1st prayer, 1.57 Cfr. M.M. P h il ip o n , The Spiritual Doctrine, p . 60.

A BIBLICAL REREADING OF THE SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCE.. 81

The petitions to Christ are expressions of the conform ity to Christ. God has predestined us “to be conform ed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8,29). "We m ust be transform ed into Jesus Christ”.58 That is why she requests that Christ may clothe her with himself, there may be identification of the movements of the soul, to tha t extent that Je­sus can substitute himself for her. The petitions imply concrete inti­m ate and close relationship by the use of spousal language. “Allure m e” echoes in us the words of God to Israel through Hosea in 2 , 14f...” God wants to allure her and take her into the wilderness to talk to her heart. So Elizabeth desires to be “the bride” for Jesus’ heart, "love him until she dies of love”. The life of love is the expression of actual Chris­tian discipleship. E lizabeths life became an explosion love.

The Spirit is addressed as “Consuming fire” and "Spirit of love”. The Spirit is the source and energy of dynam ism and mission. This is lived on through hope. The m ission is to actualize the presence of Je­sus Christ, the interpretation of the Father in the world today and thus to proclaim it, to be the Gospel and to proclaim the Gospel. Hence the request to the Spirit is “come upon me, create in my soul another incarnation of the w ord”. "Come upon m e” brings before us, the scene of anunciation and echoes in our ears the words of the an­gel to Mary: "the Holy Spirit will come upon you” (Lk 1, 35). So "an­other incarnation” and “another hum anity” are articulations of the expected conform ity of life to that of Christ so th a t one is a witness of Jesus through life. Bl. Elizabeth was already "the praise of his glory” on earth and the loud testim ony of “Heaven in faith”. Thus through and in our transparent lives God can "renew his whole mystery..” by realizing Christ’s life of reparation, sacrifice, praise and adoration.

Then "Father” is addressed and the petition is: “bend lovingly over the little creature”. This signals to the final eschatological in ter­vention of God, the Father and Judge. The eschatological fulfillment of salvation history is verbalized in the petition: “Cover her w ith your shadow, seeing in her the beloved, well pleased”. The words are taken from the scenes of Jesus’ baptism and transfiguration. The perfect union w ith God through the union of wills is realized w hen we can be persons on whom the pleasure of God can rest, as Jesus was. So fi­nally, God will be visible, tangible and audible through our lives. As she writes, “it is also w ithout living it tha t the soul will live, like the im m utable Trinity, in an eternal present, adoring Him always be­cause of Him self and becoming by an always m ore simple, m ore uni- tive gaze, the “splendour” of his gloiy”, tha t is, the unceasing 'praise of glory’ of His adorable perfections”.59

58 E l i z a b e t h o f t h e T r in i ty , Last Retreat, 14th day, 37 .59 Ibid., 16th day, 44 .

82 AUGUSTINE MULLOOR

Hence this prayer epitomizes the whole history of salvation, in the past, present and future dim ensions, in the involvement of the Trinity in history, in the decisive turning point of Christ-event, in the spirit who empowers us to relive the hum anity of Christ and in the Father to become the beloved in whom he is well pleased and be cov­ered by His shadow. So the prayer to the Trinity is essentially a salva­tion-historical prayer, a biblical prayer.

Conclusion

Bl. Elizabeth of the Trinity, an authentic Carmelite, rooted and lived on the w ord of God, pondering it day and night, like “M ary who kept in m ind and pondered in the heart, the depths of the mystery of C hrist”60 the Word of the Father, becam e the transparen t presence of the biblical values. She journeyed inw ardly to the depth of her soul, the dwelling place of God, and through the arm our of God namely, faith, love and hope, identified herself w ith the Word of God, the Sword of the Spirit (Eph. 6, 13-17) and dwelt in God, in solitude and silence.61

As she was rooted in God, so God was dwell in her. Thus she re­alized in her life the salvation history in its various dim ensions and fulfilled the ideal of radical discipleship according to John and the soteriological significance of Christian existence according to Paul. She becam e the visible sign of Salvation H istory in its inner dy­nam ism with Johannine roots and Pauline fruits.

Thus, the m ore she was rooted in the Bible, the m ore Carmelite she becam e and the m ore she was rooted in the Carmelite tradition, the m ore biblical she became. So Bible is the key to in terpret her life ju st as her life is another key to in terpret Bible.

60 Ibid., 1st day, 2; 15th day, 40.61 The meaning her name "Elizabeth” as proposed to her as she received it "House of God” is not etymologically correct. The Hebrew word is the combina­tion of ELI + SB'. This means probably “My God is an oath” or “My God is Full­ness or Fortune”. But we may say that her actual life has given a new nuance to the Word, rather.